


Saved By the Bat

by Angelicat2



Series: Sheith Month 2019 [8]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: And frankly neither does anyone else but shiro, But Hunk is also a good bean, Cute, Day 10-ten cents, Hunk (Voltron) Has Anxiety, Hunk doesn't know Keef is the bat, POV Hunk (Voltron), Shapeshifter Keith (Voltron), Sheith Month 2019, Vampire Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 17:23:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19728292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelicat2/pseuds/Angelicat2
Summary: When an electricity-eating moth gets into the castle, it's up to the team to find the holes it used to get inside. Keith helps them.





	Saved By the Bat

**Author's Note:**

> I love writing bat Keith and things from Hunk's pov.
> 
> Alternate title name: The time Hunk went to grab a snack to eat but got a heart attack instead. XD

Hunk was starving.

Okay, he was always starving...and nervous, but more so now. He needed a late night snack so here he was, in the kitchen getting one...or three. Maybe four? 

Either way, he was almost to the cabinet that held the newest batch of cookies he had just made that day. The flavor had been off, but there wasn’t much he could do. He was using foreign ingredients and had little knowledge of what they did. It was much better than eating food goo all the time though. Hunk was sick and tired of the green goop. It was so bland and slimy and just yuck.

Reaching out to remove the see-through protective lid on the case, Hunk almost had a heart attack as a noise echoed around the room. Jumping back and spinning around, he listened as his heart throbbed in his chest.

It better not have been the castle malfunctioning again. He couldn’t deal with the kitchen turning on him again.

Food was to be trusted. Food was sacred.

A few moments went on before another sound rang through the air. Hunk held his breath as he listened in, hearing a few chirping sounds and small scratches against the wall. Shaking in fear, Hunk moved forward to the noises as his mind raced.

He knew he should have had Lance or Pidge or someone come with him! He'd take even Coran with his enthusiastic storytelling or Keith and his brooding awkward attitude. He could have just strolled down the hall and woken them up with a quick bribe of their favorite desserts, but _no_ he just had to decide that he wanted to be nice and let them sleep. What if something attacked him? What if he died? What if-

Something slammed against the same spot, sounding like it was tossed against the wall. Hunk frowned as a small squeak filled the air, not sounding so good. Hunk scooted hesitantly towards the small cabinet. It was one that directed the power to the whole room, and also what controlled the goo machine. Hunk moved forward, nearly jumping back as another eerie screech slashed through the room. Rushing to the thing, he took hold of the door before ripping it open.

Inside was one of the weirdest sights Hunk had ever seen. 

A small black bat was inside, sitting on top of what looked like a large moth. Said moth was wiggling around frantically, trying to lose the mammal. But the bat had it in a hold firmly in place, teeth biting into the moth’s flesh on its neck, some blood dripping from it onto the floor and spreading around as it tried to shuffle around. The bat’s wings were over the other’s, wrapping the insect’s and pinning it down. But the moth wasn’t ready to quit. It flapped wildly for a moment before flipping suddenly. The bat let out a squeak of surprise as the moth settled on top of it, antenna moving around like fingers as it gazed off into the corner with big black eyes. Hunk got a chilled feeling at that look.

Soon enough, the moth moved aside, rushing for the corner it had been staring at.

Right where the power was held.

Hunk cursed in his head as he waited for the bug to hit it. This could potentially knock out the whole grid in the castle. Coran’s grandpa wasn’t so smart in his designs 10,000 years ago...or what it 10,600 years ago? Whatever time ago.

Before the moth reached it, the bat tackled it from the side, leaping at it. Both crashed back against the wall as Hunk moved forward while grabbing the nearest container, which happened to be a clear cup just big enough for the moth.

“Buddy, I need you to move for me.”

Hunk wasn’t sure if the bat could understand him, but a moment later, the bat released the moth who tumbled across the floor from the lack of force holding it. Hunk threw the cup over it before it had the chance to get back up. A scary screeching noise echoed within the cup as the moth tried to move, but couldn’t.

With one hand empty, he called the others on the alarm nearby. Luckily, this one was silent and made no noise. Bracing the cup, Hunk placed a heavy plate on the top. Inside, the moth buzzed about in anger as it made more sounds. The antenna were waving around wildly, probably trying to find a route out of it. 

Hunk looked over at the bat who was licking his wing while making tiny trilling sounds. It reminded him of an old cat his family used to own. Especially when it caught a mouse, it made the same noise. He continued to watch as lavender blood was cleaned away like it was candy and not...well, uh...blood.

The bat likes blood. Hunk put that away for a later time. 

“What's going on?” Lance asked as he stumbled into the room, rubbing his eyes. His hair was wild with sleep and he was still in his blue pajamas. 

“Hunk,” Pidge rushed forward just behind his best friend with a small glare as she looked about before turning her eyes back to him, “Why the heck did you activate the alarm? I was almost asleep.”

“We have an issue,” Hunk began only for the Altean princess to burst into the room, hair in a messy bun and blinking away sleep. Huh, the Alteans did sleep apparently. Hunk had never seen her do so.

“What in the name of Altea is happening?”

“Well-”

“We're under attack!” Coran shouted as he ran into the room. When he stopped to look, his face relaxed after a moment of silence, “Are we under attack, Number Two?”

“I don't know-”

“Hey,” Shiro’s voice called out as Hunk sighed inwardly. How many people were going to interrupt him before he could tell them? “I could have gotten you a snack.”

Hunk became confused. What was Shiro talking about? Who was he talking to?

The bat let out a chirp before its tail wiggled enthusiastically. Before the teen could comprehend it, the tiny bat launched itself into the air before landing on Shiro’s shoulder...which was in his normal outfit like he didn’t change into...the armor. That was unheard of. The bat nuzzled into his neck, letting out a series of clicks. 

"Oh," Shiro glanced at them like this was the first time he noticed them, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Pidge scowled before glaring at Hunk tiredly, rubbing her eye, "All I know is Hunk woke me up just as I was going to sleep. He hasn't explained why he had us come to the kitchen."

"Guys," Hunk spoke as he waved his arms to the cup, "We might have a big problem. This moth-"

"A moth?" Lance groaned as he rubbed his face, "Look, Hunk, my buddy...why did you wake us up for a bug? I'm trying to get my beauty sleep."

"If you let me explain first," Hunk stated harshly before sighing and pointing at the moth who jumped about under the cup, still making buzzing sounds, "I was in the kitchen getting a late night snack-"

"Of course you were," Lance interrupted. The bat made a hissing sound before flying into the air. Before Hunk could blink, the mammal was sitting on his head, making a strange set of sounds that oddly comforted Hunk. Lance gave an incredulous look at them that Hunk ignored for now.

"I was getting a snack when I heard a noise. When I looked, our bat buddy was fighting this moth who was trying to fling itself into the electric grid."

"And it's a good thing it didn't," Coran shouted as they all turned to him, "These bugs get their fuel from electricity. If it gets so much as one lick of it, it'll grow much bigger! With enough electricity, it could potentially become the size of Voltron. What a sight!"

"Wait!" Lance screamed as his eyes widened, "That is not a sight! Wouldn't we have to fight it then? I don't want to do that...We just got finished with a battle like...four hours...vargas?...ago."

"I'm more worried about how it got in," Allura frowned as she stared at the flapping bug, "It must have gotten in recently, or else we would have had a problem before when the castle first activated again."

"It could take us days to find wherever it got in," Pidge began as she pulled out her orange phone, tapping away wildly, "I can create an app to find any holes, but it's going to take some time."

A squeak echoed through the air as the bat shifted, tiny front wings tapping against Hunk's head to get his attention. Everyone paused to look at the small mammal who tilted his head before letting out another squeak.

“You sure you want him on your head?” Pidge asked as she watched him wiggle on the other’s hair. Hunk shrugged because he was okay with it. The bat seemed nice whenever he was around, and Hunk liked animals, “Because I remember a time he accidentally threw up on Matt’s head.”

The bat hissed softly before settling down, a small whining sound coming out.

“Awww,” Lance spoke up, glancing from Hunk’s head to Pidge, “You hurt his feelings, Pidgy.”

“Call me Pidgy one more time…” The girl glared at him with narrowed eyes, so Lance just threw his hands up.

“Okay, okay, geez,” he frowned before focusing back on the bat Hunk couldn’t exactly see but knew was there, “Look at that face though. I’ve never seen a sad bat, but that’s the closest thing.”

“I know,” Pidge frowned before she moved closer, “I’m sorry, little guy. We knew it was accidental...It was funny to see his face though. And you threw up on Shiro’s hand, too. I think...it's an attachment thing. Making sure they have enough food, right little guy?”

The bat perked up, making some more noise. A second passed before the bat was suddenly in Hunk’s face, upside down. Hunk almost shouted in fear as he fell back a step.

“Whoa! Warn a dude, please,” he steadied himself as the bat sniffed the air. Moments later, he slipped off of his forehead, flapping his way to the counter before perching there, licking at his wing again and ruffling his fur on his head. It was cute. Hunk could admit that. He didn't know a lot about bats, but he did know that they groomed themselves as much as cats did.

That made him wonder...did the lions need grooming? Or...waxing? Shining?...Cleaning? He wasn't completely sure what to call it, considering that they were vaguely sentient beings.

“So when can you get the program up?” Allura asked as they turned back to what they needed to do. The bug growled before pushing itself against the cup again, wings flapping, “We’ll need it as soon as you can make it. I’d feel much better knowing that there are no holes in this castle.”

“Well,” Pidge stared at her phone for a long moment, probably calculating it up, “It’s going to take at least a full day to make, and that’s if we don’t have to form Voltron or sleep, eat, and go to the bathroom.”

The bat huffed as he made a small sound. Hunk figured he was agreeing in some sense, so he went back to listening to the two talk.

“If this moth,” Allura pointed at the thing, “Can get into the castle, what’s to say that something else won’t?”

“You’re right, princess,” Coran stated as he twisted his mustache, “It must have come in when we were at the last planet. If so, other things could sneak on in the future. Why! I bet a Galra could, no problem.”

“A Galra?” Lance frowned before scoffing, “That would have to be a pretty big hole.”

“Not necessarily,” the older Altean stared at something for a moment, “Some of those holes could potentially open up to a bigger entrance.”

“So they’d be there anyway?” Hunk asked as he looked around nervously, “So what’s the difference? They can get in either way.”

“Not quite,” he tapped the surface of the counter, “Holes put in on purpose have a role to play. Those that are just there from wear and tear can be fixed so no one can sneak in.”

“If there are holes,” Lance raised a brow as he waved his hands around, “Wouldn’t we be dead by now! Lack of air? You know, no oxygen?”

“No,” Pidge spoke up as she stared at Hunk’s best friend with an unimpressed look, “If the holes are small enough, the air will stay in here well enough. Too many holes would cause problems, but I don’t think it’s gotten that bad yet. It also depends on where the holes are. If most of them are inside, then there will be less leakage.”

“Oh man, maybe we should ask Shiro what he thinks?” Hunk asked as he turned to the man, “Hey, Shiro. What do y-”

There was nothing there. Where Shiro had been, no one was now. Glancing down at where the bat had been, Hunk blinked. The bat was gone too. Oh, no. This was not good. This was so not good. What if the moth took them out? What if-

“Whoa, Hunk,” Lance waved his hands downward, pulling the other out of his panic, “My man...You’re stressing over nothing. They’re probably around here somewhere.”

“Okay, okay,” Hunk nodded before letting out a deep breath, “Time to find them. We can find them. They couldn’t have gotten far. Right?”

“They must be nearby,” Allura agreed as she rubbed her eyes, looking tired still, “We will find them now.”

And then they all left the kitchen, after securing the bug in a better container that they could carry with them. Lance had been the one they had persuaded to keep holding the jar, which the guy protested about until Pidge teased him and called him a baby. Hunk snickered under his breath as they ventured down one of the halls.

“Don’t you have a system thing that can tell you where everyone is?” Lance groaned as they strolled down another hall, “We’ve been walking for almost half a tick.”

“Uh,” Pidge glared back at him with dark eyes, “That’s half a varga, and maybe if you complained a little less, we would have found them by now.”

“Hey-”

Hunk heard something.

“Guys, do you hear that?”

Everyone quieted. All there was in the air was silence for a long moment. The air vent near their head turned on as they stayed silent. 

“You’re hearing things,” Lance dismissed as he stared at Hunk who only narrowed his eyes, trying to listen on, “You okay, Hunk?”

About to answer, the same noise echoed around them, a little louder this time.

“That!” Hunk stared at the hall just in front of them, “I heard it before.”

“It is a noise,” Coran nodded as he hummed thoughtfully, “Why don’t we go investigate it?”

“Guys,” Hunk scowled as he crossed his arms nervously, “This is how all the horror films go. Go down a dark hallway, hear a weird noise, and BAM! You’re attacked!”

“Well, good thing this isn’t a horror film,” Coran laughed as they all cringed, “Why, I rememb-”

“Yeah, no,” Hunk interrupted before the man could go off on a rant about something in his past, “Let’s go.”

Following the sounds down the hall, they paused to see that Shiro was standing on the other side of the hall, tapping softly on the wall with his Galra hand. He didn’t seem aware of them standing there as he bent over, flicking his finger lower. Every time the metal digit hit the metal, it made a pinging noise.

About to ask what he was doing, a keen sound came from behind the wall before a furry head popped up out of nowhere, staring up at the older man. The black ball of fuzz contrasted with the white gleaming wall, making it easy to be seen. Shiro chuckled as he rubbed the top of the mammal’s head carefully, so he didn’t end up pushing the bat back into the hole.

“That’s two down,” he stated softly as he tapped on the wall near the hole, getting a hollow pang instead, “How many are here?”

The bat - Hunk would have to get a name for the little guy - let out a chirp before climbing out of the hole which looked about the size of a dime from back home. He didn’t seem small enough to fit in there, but his fur must have been oily enough to squeeze in.

Wait. A ten-cent coin-sized hole almost got them into big trouble.

Hunk gulped. Instead of focusing on that, he watched as Shiro held out his hand. The bat promptly jumped up to it before resting on the appendage. He nuzzled into the thumb before playfully biting at the metal. Shiro snickered again before bringing the bat closer to his face so he was level with his eyes.

“Now you don’t have to be so careful with that,” he grinned as the bat made another noise, “I can feel it, but it doesn’t hurt. The metal seems to be pretty scratch resistant. I know you get an urge to bite on stuff sometimes.”

The bat flicked his ear before rubbing his cheek against the silver thumb. In the next second, he licked Shiro’s thumb before nipping down on the metal. Shiro laughed again as the bat wiggled softly in his hand, barely taking up any room on the older’s hand. Hunk glanced at the others in the group, seeing them just watching the two interact. Pidge was just smirking while the others smiled.

And then the bat stared straight at them, dark eyes glistening as he munched on the finger again. If a bat could ever be so smug, that is what Hunk would imagine a bat looking like. There was even a small tug on the corner of his lip, a pale tongue flicking out to lick over the light material of Shiro’s thumb. His tail wagged almost like a dog's, as if happy to see that the others were there and currently seeing this. Hunk was looking too much into it...He didn’t have any time to think it over as the man stared up at them, still crouched down like that didn’t bother his legs at all.

“Oh, hey,” he smiled sheepishly before standing up and settling the bat on his shoulder. Said bat blinked innocently before nuzzling against the man’s neck, tucking into the vest, “We found some of the holes.”

“Is that why you left?” Allura asked curiously, brows pinched in confusion, “And how exactly have you found some of the holes?”

“Well,” Shiro shrugged before grinning. Meanwhile, the bat poked his head up, staring at them. Hunk swore the mammal was really smarter than he should be, “Little Buddy led me to the holes after you guys started arguing. He can find them with echolocation.”

Said bat made a series of sounds before climbing up the side of Shiro’s face, settling on his head before brushing a wing through the taller’s hair. Shiro didn’t even break a sweat, as if it were something he was used to. But...then again, he had been imprisoned by insane aliens, so maybe nothing bothered him anymore. At least, he thought so...

"Can he find the rest?" The princess questioned. The bat's ear twitched irritatedly as his eyes narrowed. Shiro only snickered as he rubbed his hand over the other, calming the bat who let out a small huff.

“I trust him to,” Shiro shrugged slightly before pointing at two spots on the wall, “We know for sure that there are two holes there. There are probably more, but we haven’t found them yet.”

“As long as we know where they are,” the Altean nodded as she yawned, gown flaring about as she stretched one arm up, “We will have to work on them later, but for now, I suggest we retire for the night.”

“As you humans say, we need our beauty sleep!” Coran stated enthusiastically as if it weren’t in the dead of night, “Can’t have exhausted paladins, can we?”

Hunk nodded. They were useless tired. Even Shiro would agree, although the man didn’t seem to get much sleep. The teen snuck a glance over at said man who didn’t even seem like he was paying attention anymore. He was back to petting the bat who was biting on his thumb again like it was a huge pacifier. Now that Hunk was paying attention, the bat’s teeth were bigger than they should have been, wickedly sharp like fangs. But...the bat didn’t look like a vampire bat. From what Hunk remembered on a school project, he was about the size of one but was not the right color or shape. But he liked blood...

Hunk was way too tired and hungry for this.

Time to go back to bed.


End file.
